Free Survivor's Remorse: Brothers of Ink and Steel by Kathryn Thomas Page B

me.
     
    ***
     
    “Sergeant Graves!”
     
    “First Sergeant,” Leo said as he saluted the approaching man.
     
    “Are we ready to roll?”
     
    “Awaiting your orders, First Sergeant.”
     
    “Have the troops mount up. The convoy is forming up. Standard formation. The Lieutenant is ready to rock and roll.”
     
    “Yes, First Sergeant.” Leo saluted and turned to carry out his orders. “Leo,” First Sergeant Hitchens said. “You did a good thing there, today.”
     
    “First Sergeant?” Leo asked as he turned back to his commanding officer.
     
    “The kids, Leo, the kids. When I wanted to shoot the kids, you stopped me. That was a good thing. It’s a good thing you survived or those kids would be dead today.”
     
    “Kids, First Sergeant?”
     
    First Sergeant Hitchens sighed in exasperation. “Today? When you pulled the gun on me? Don’t you remember?”
     
    “That wasn’t—”
     
    “No. But you pulled a gun on your superior. President. Platoon Sergeant. Same thing.”
     
    “I would never pull my gun on you, First Sergeant!” Leo protested. First Sergeant Hitchens had been a great mentor for him and Leo liked him.
     
    “When I pull stupid shit like that, you damn well should. Its times like this that I’m glad you survived.”
     
    Leo felt a chill fall over him. It was as if he had stepped into a freezer. “I didn’t know what to do. When I couldn’t contact you or Lieutenant Collins…”
     
    “Sergeant Graves… when the IED took out my Hummer, you stepped in and took charge. When the shit is hitting the fan, nobody knows what to do. Not me. Not Lieutenant Collins, not Captain Lee, not Major Harris. You adapt and overcome. That’s all you can do.”
     
    “But I didn’t overcome. Everyone died.”
     
    “Everyone but you. Sergeant… I believe we are all put on this earth for a reason. Maybe yours was to save those kids today. Maybe yours is to make sure that Lima 6 doesn’t go dark… that they continue to follow the path of light. But one thing is certain, if you had died that day, those kids would be dead now, too. It’s okay to grieve, Sergeant, but life goes on. We all have our bit to play in this life. We have played our parts. Now it up to you to play yours.”
     
    Leo sat up in bed. As his dream bled away he thought of Second Platoon. He smiled sadly as he remembered First Sergeant Ethan Hitchens. He was a good man. They were all good men and women. And now… they were all dead.
     
    Leo flopped back into his bed and sighed as he stared into the darkness, thinking. He had been a tireless recruiter for Lima 6. He had planned on trying to recruit Jamie’s brother. But after what happened today, he wasn’t sure bringing anyone else into the club was such a good idea. They used to be the good guys, the guys in the clean white hats and silver plated guns. But now? Now… he wasn’t so sure. 
     

 
    CHAPTER EIGHT
     
    Leo hissed in pain as he stared at his face in the mirror in his bathroom and dabbed at the abrasion with an alcohol-soaked cotton ball. He had trailered his quad-bike out into Big Bend Park and spent the morning riding, up until he crashed it.
     
    He had felt totally out of sorts all day yesterday, and woke up feeling the same way today. Rather than sit at home and mope, he had decided to go burn off some energy and try to find some…spark. Something, anything to drag him out of this depression he could feel himself slipping into. He had kept pushing the quad harder and harder, looking for some feeling – fear, excitement, he didn’t care. He kept riding closer and closer to the edge – until he fell off. It was stupid what he was doing, and he knew it, but he didn’t care. He should have died five years ago anyway. Then he had misjudged a turn and had gone ass first into the weeds along the side of the road.
     
    Now his quad was busted up and so was he, but it could have been worse. After he picked himself up and got his quad back on its wheels,